As part of our Eleventh Doctor festivities this month we are thrilled to be able to bring you our exclusive interview with Nina Toussaint-White‏!

Nina guest starred in the Series 6 episode Let’s Kill Hitler as Amy’s best friend Mels, but we soon discovered there was a LOT more to her character than first met the eye…

We chatted to the actress about keeping the secrets under wraps and her memories of filming.

Big thanks to Nina for answering our questions. Follow her on Twitter @NinaToussaint!

Q. Hi, Nina. So when did you first realise you were interested in acting?
A. From an early age I attended acting groups like G.Y.P.T. However, although I always loved to perform, I didn’t truly realise it would play such a big role in my life. Taking A-Level drama was the best thing that could have ever happened to me as it kept me grounded and focused, which was something that I’d struggled with in other areas. From then on it was a natural progression on to drama school and, once graduated, signing with an agent. I guess you could say that, rather than realising I had an interest in acting, I was naturally drawn to a career that made me feel the most comfortable and happy.

Q. How did your guest role in Doctor Who come about?
A. Like every other job Ive had, my agent called and told me I had an audition. I went for it and a few days later I found out I’d landed the role.

Q. Were you already a fan of the series?
A. In all honesty, no. I remember being pretty terrified of the Daleks as a child so I never really gave it a chance after that!

Q. What was it about the character of Mels that appealed to you?
A. Her feistiness! It’s so nice to see strong female roles on TV and Mels is most definitely one of them. There should be more roles like this out there for female actresses. I had a lot of fun playing such a cheeky yet tough character.

Q. Mels was revealed to be an earlier incarnation of River Song. How difficult was it to keep this twist a secret?
A. If someone asked me about the part I’d always tell them to watch it and find out for themselves. Nobody likes a spoiler!

Q. How long did it take to film all of your scenes?
A. It was very sporadic. We filmed the last few scenes in March which took a couple of weeks to shoot. All the bits in the corn field were filmed in July. There was a huge gap in between the filming dates because we had to wait for the corn to grow.

Q. What are your favourite memories from your time on set?
A. My best memory of being on set was when I first stepped into the TARDIS. Although I’d never really followed the show before this, it was here where it really hit home to me that I was in such an iconic show.

Q. Doctor Who fans are known for their dedication. What have been your personal experiences of meeting the fans?
A. It has been nothing but joy meeting all the fans. I attend conventions from time to time and I’m actually off to Chicago in a few weeks to do another. They are very full on and you have to meet and greet so many people but you feel nothing but joy throughout the day. There are always so many happy faces excited to be there. My mouth tends to ache once the day is done from all the smiling!

Q. From your own experiences, what advice would you give to any aspiring actors out there?
A. Work hard at your craft, attend acting classes and/or go to drama school. Get a good agent who can open the right doors for you and most importantly never give up. For the majority, becoming an actor is extremely hard. Yes, there are the few who succeed due to luck or who are handed opportunities on a plate but in most/almost all cases it is a very tough and competitive industry and you have to be very thick skinned to take on all the knock backs. So many people say no to you but if you’re truly passionate about your craft and never give up, I believe you will succeed.

Q. Finally, have you got any current or upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?
A. Yes! I’m currently playing the role of Shelley in the new comedy series Uncle. It will air in January on BBC Three.

Elsewhere, if you have been following Assimilation2, the ongoing Doctor Who and Star Trek comic series, Issues #3, #4, #5 and #6 are on sale, as well as reprints of #1 and #2, and Volume 1, compiling the first handful of instalments, is on its way this autumn…

We are now over halfway through the year (blimey!), and so far 2012’s been pretty Doctor-less in the TV department.

All we know for sure is that we’ll be getting 6 new episodes in the autumn, including the Christmas Special in December, but just when we can expect the Doctor back on our screens is, for the time being, up in the air.

Going from what we’ve been told, however, at the moment it is looking like the new series will begin in August.

Two screenings of the first episode, Asylum of the Daleks, have been confirmed to be taking place next month, the first for members of the public at the BFI on 14th August, and the second towards the end of the month, for senior media figures, at the MGEITF, and it seems likely that the air date will be within a stone’s throw of these events (as last year Let’s Kill Hitler was shown at the MGEITF the day before its BBC One premiere).

As well as that, it’s been confirmed today that, beginning on Saturday 4th August, BBC America will be airing four exclusive specials – The Science of Doctor Who, The Women of Doctor Who, The Timey-Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who and The Destinations of Doctor Who – in preparation for the new series. If they are shown weekly, they would finish on Saturday 25th August, the air date which looks most likely taking all of this into account.

As always, this is all speculation, and the dates won’t be finalised until a couple of weeks before broadcast. For now let’s just take comfort knowing that the Doctor is on his way…

The attraction, which launched in London last year, will now become a permanent fixture in Cardiff Bay, located right next to where the series is now being produced at Roath Lock studios. The head of Exhibitions and Events at BBC Worldwide, Paula Al-Lach, accepted the keys to the building this afternoon. The first exhibits are now being moved in.

“The Experience sets out to engage visitors’ imaginations from the outset, immersing them into the world of Doctor Who,” said Philip Murphy, Managing Director of BBC Worldwide Live Events. “Where better to do this than Cardiff, the home of the show.”

Cardiff Council’s head of economic development, Ken Poole, added: “Doctor Who is a global brand and has really helped to boost the profile of Cardiff. This attraction will bring millions of pounds to the economy. Benefits will be immense in terms of tourism.”

The Experience, which is expected to attract at least 250,000 people a year, features an interactive walk-through challenge, in which fans step aboard – and fly – a replica of the Eleventh Doctor’s TARDIS. The adventure culminates in an epic 3D showdown, before visitors journey into the exhibition, the most extensive collection of props and costumes.

The museum will be updated constantly with the very latest props from the series. The Doctor’s cradle from A Good Man Goes to War, his sonic cane from Let’s Kill Hitler, and more items being kept under wraps are to be showcased in Cardiff for the first time.

Tickets for the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff will go on sale at 10am on 14th June.

The event, which takes place during August of every year, brings together various senior media figures in order to inspire, learn and create new networks throughout the ever growing television industry. Attendees will be able to see the opening episode of the new Doctor Who series before it’s aired, and Steven Moffat will be giving a masterclass.

The news has led to speculation that Series 7 will begin on BBC1 around the same time…

Last month we told you about the new Series 6 soundtrack which is to be released in time for Christmas – and now its track listing has been revealed!

The 2-disc CD will be available to buy/download from 19th December, featuring an array of Murray Gold’s scores which were heard throughout this year’s adventures.

Check out the track list below! Any tracks you’re particularly looking forward to humming along to…? Let us know!

Something else which will no doubt be at the top of our Christmas wish lists this year is the Series 6 boxset, which is out now on DVD and Blu-ray! Find out more about it here.

DISC ONE- The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon1) I Am The Doctor In Utah
2) 1969
3) The Impossible Astronaut
4) Trust Me
5) Help Is On Its Way
6) Another Perfect Prison
7) Greystark Hall
8) Apollo 11
9) Day Of The Moon
10) I See You Silence

- The Curse of the Black Spot11) You’re A Dead Man
12) Deadly Siren
13) Perfect Reflection
14) All For One
15) The Curse Of The Black Spot

DISC TWO- Let’s Kill Hitler1) Growing Up Fast
2) The Blush Of Love
3) Terror Of The Reich
4) The British Are Coming
5) A Very Unusual Melody
6) When A River Forms
7) Pay Attention Grown Ups
8) The Enigma Of River Song

If we go by previous boxset releases, we can also expect to see the usual Confidential Cut Downs, trailers, as well as the Monster Files for the the Silence, Gangers, Antibodies and Cybermats, the latter of which are included on the Part 1/Part 2 separate releases.

Please note that nothing has been confirmed yet, so regard this as speculation for now!

On Saturday night we’ll be introduced to the terrifying Night Terrors, and to prepare us for the scares in store, the BBC website has been updated with new Episode 9 content!

As well as a video intro from Matt Smith and series producer Marcus Wilson, they’ve new episode, character, peg doll and behind the scenes galleries, plus you can also piece together a scene from the episode in the jigsaw. If all that wasn’t enough, 2 great videos previewing its accompanying Confidential, About a Boy, have also been released!

In the first, we visit Arthur and Karen on set, while the second features Karen and the Babes doing what Karen and the Babes do best! Another stellar performance, guys! You can tune into Confidential at 7:45pm on BBC3, straight after the main event on BBC1…

Confidential is on location with the Doctor Who crew, presenting behind-the-scenes action from a beautiful 17th century estate in the Gloucestershire countryside and a high-rise housing estate in Bristol.

Matt, Karen and Arthur give us a bit of a sing-song, we spend a long night with the one of the assistant directors and the special effects team show us that, sometimes, good old-fashioned green gloop is the only way.

Mark Gatiss talks to us about writing for three consecutive TV Doctors and, in Script to Screen, find out who plays an all-important historical figure.

Meanwhile, you may remember the messages hidden in the Fourth Dimension sections throughout the spring series. Well, a new one is included on the Let’s Kill Hitler guide! It reads: “…when reason slept, when mothers wept, when soldiers crept, the monsters came”. Yikes! Could it have anything to do with this week’s episode, or something else?

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